Felted fabric and process for the manufacture thereof



Patented June 7, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELIO LDOLFO PEROGIO, OF MONTELUPONE, ITALY.

' rnm'nb'rnnrc AND rnocnss roa THE MANUFACTURE manor.

, I No Drawing. Application filed November 21, 1922, 'Serial No.602,479, and in Italy December 8, 1921.

This invention has for its object to produce an improved felted fabricandan improved process for the manufacture thereof.

The improved felted fabric which Wlll not unravel and which is highlytenacious, elastic and pervious to liquids, is made by employing humanand animal hair either mixed together, or used separately, by a newprocess of manufacture. I

The improved felted fabric can be pro? duced in a very large variety offorms, a nd owing to its filtering ower and its elasticity it can beused very" a vantageously as a .rn'aterial for making pressing bags for011 mllls,

for the stearine industry and for the sugar,

industry, as well as in saddle making, in the rubber industry for theprotection of the air tubes of neumatic wheel tyres, forpowertransmission belting, etc. and when covered with emery powder, forpolishing metals.

The improved process of manufacture of this improved felted fabric is asfollows:

The hair (human or animal, or both) is mixed up together in its naturalstate and then formed into a stratified mass that is to say a mass ofloosely interlaced hairs of the desired thickness in a basin of shapeand size suited to the finished article to be made therefrom, containingwater. This water is afterwards substituted by an abundant bath of afrothy lubricating emulsifying liquid, For this purpose an oil bath maybe used, but I have found that the diluted waste water from soapfactories, which costs noth' ing, is particularly well suited for thepurpose. The stratified mass, immersed in the said bath, is thensubjected to gentle rubbing effected with the hand or by any suitablemechanical means, in all directions over the surface of the stratifiedmass.

The result of this operation is to produce an interlacing or feltingtogether of the hairs at the surface where a kind of crust is formedwhich allows of turning the strati fied mass upside down, and repeatingthe same rubbing on the other or inverted side thereof and over itswhole area.

This treatment effects an interlacing o'f the hairs and a hardening ofthe entire surface.

Then, while the material is still in the lubricating bath, the shape istightened, and consequently there is effected a successive interlacingof the hairs at the surface and in the interior of the mass by rubbingmore energetically than before over the entire surface and by pressingupon the edges in order to produce the desired size and shape, theeffect being that since the hairs are prevented from passing out at thesurface by reason of the aforesaid crust, these hairs will be caused bythe pressure'to penetrate more and more into the interior of the massand to become still further interlaced, so that the entire mass becomescompact andhard and further rubbing does not result in furthercontraction of the mass or further modification of the shape whichdetermines the end of the operation. At this oint the maximum tenacityand density 0 the felted fabric has been reached. 1

It is to be noted that the hairs of the product retain their polishedsurface due to the fact that the horny surface layer thereof is notinjuriously affected. In the usual felting methods the said layer isgenerally softened or destroyed and considerable pressure is used morefor cleaving the softened hairs than for the proper felting.

In the present process mere hand rubbing is sufficient, and it ispossible to employ any kind of hair, for instance human hair which owingto the horny surface layer and stiff ness of the hairs cannotsuccessfully be felted by the usual methods. In the present process thesaid layer facilitates the untearable tightening and interlacing of thehairs.

The final shape produced as above described, is allowed to dry naturallyin the air, and afterwards, if necessary, its surface is coated withoxidized linseed oil or with a resin varnish or gum varnish if it isdesired that it should be hardened to a further degree and have apolished surface without interfering with its filtering property. It isto be observed that this coating acts in a protecting capacity, forinstance when used as a filter the linseed oil protects the hair fromthe action of the oil or water whereas when bing the entire outersurface of said stratified mass more energetically, pressing the edgesof the mass so as to obtain the desired shape and finally allowing themass to dry.

2. A process for the manufacture of a fabric of non-feltable materialsuchas human hair and animal hair which consists in intermingling hairsin a bath of a frothy lubricating emulsifying liquid when the hairs arein the natural state so as to form a stratified mass of suitablethickness, lightly rubbing the upper surface of the stratified mass inall directions while the mass is immersed in the bath, then turning thesaid Stratified mass and repeating the rubbing action, then rubbing theentire surface of the said Stratified mass more energetically, pressingthe edges of the mass so as to obtain the desired sha e, allowing themass to dry and finally ap ying a protective coating to the 20 entiresur ace of the mass.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ELIO ADOLFO PEROGIO.

